Hundreds of people back DIY shop in battle with council

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

Hundreds of people have backed a DIY shop after a council ordered it to remove a shipping container storing pieces of wood from its land. 

More than 750 people have signed a petition in support of KJ Building Supplies in Brockley, which is locked in a battle with Lewisham council over the storage of building materials down the side of its shop. 

The council is taking the business’s former owner to court over his refusal to remove a shipping container, pieces of timber and other building materials from a yard outside the store. 

One supporter, James Westcott, wrote: “When we moved to Brockley in 2015. Will came over to install some lights for us after helping us get the kit we needed. 

“Lewisham council is insanely short-sighted, prioritising so-called unsightliness over genuine community service.”

Lewisham issued the shop’s former owner with an enforcement notice ordering him to stop using the land to store materials in 2018. The notice stated the business didn’t have planning permission for a builder’s yard. 

But the two-man duo behind KJ Building Supplies, Kevin Bottomley and Will Buckle, said the storage area was essential for the business. They said the shop would have to close for good if the council succeeded in stopping it using the yard.

An online petition in support of the building supplies shop says the business is a victim of the area’s “recent gentrification” and an unjust targeting of ‘unsightly’ businesses”.

House prices in Brockley have rocketed by 66 per cent since 2013, according to Land Registry figures cited by estate agent Kinleigh Folkard and Hayward. 

As of September 27, the petition had racked up 754 signatures in support of the business. 

Another backer, Julia Milton, wrote: “This shop is a pillar to the local community that it serves. 

“The use of a shipping container to store goods, which is far removed from the street, is a brilliant sustainable idea and avoids building an unsightly depot that would be seen from the street.” 

A Lewisham council spokesman said “We have been engaging with the owner of KJ Building Supplies since 2015 regarding the unlawful use of the land adjacent to the shop as an unsecured builder’s yard and open storage facility, in breach of local planning rules and without planning permission.

“An enforcement notice was originally served in 2018 requiring the owner to cease using this land as a builder’s yard. It does not relate to the main shop building and does not require the business to stop operating. The owner’s appeal against this enforcement notice was rejected by the independent Planning Inspectorate.

“Despite repeated reminders over the past five years, providing the owner with reasonable opportunity to make alternative arrangements, the enforcement notice has not been complied with.

“This has left us with no option but to take legal action against this unlawful development, which is a clear breach of local planning rules.

“We remain happy to engage with the owner on any development proposal for this land.”

Pictured top: Kevin Bottomley and Will Buckle, the two-man duo behind KJ Building Supplies, outside the shop (Picture: Supplied by Save KJ Building Supplies campaign)